Bush story hangs over Rather's decision to step down

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Dan Rather admits an error of judgement in accepting the veracity of documents about George Bush's time in the Texas National Guard.Photo: AP

One of America's oldest and longest-serving news anchors, Dan
Rather, has said he will step down as the host of the CBS network's
evening news.

Rather, 73, said on Tuesday he would leave the post on March 9 -
his 24th anniversary in the job.

The move was almost certainly a consequence of Rather's
decision, before the US election, to put a poorly researched,
damaging story about President George Bush to air on 60
Minutes.

Rather said 60 Minutes had obtained 30-year-old memos
that proved Mr Bush received preferential treatment in the Texas
National Guard, which he joined instead of serving in Vietnam.

Within hours of the broadcast, bloggers had exposed the memos as
probable fakes.

The type looked exactly like Microsoft Word, which did not exist
in the 1970s, and the letters were perfectly centred and spaced,
something that is almost impossible to achieve on an electric
typewriter.

Bloggers speculated that Rather - who succeeded Walter Cronkite
as host of the evening news - rushed the story to air because he
was biased against Mr Bush.

In September, Rather admitted that 60 Minutes had failed
to scrutinise the documents, and had relied too heavily on an
anti-Bush source.